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Contrary to popular belief, the American west wasn't some lawless prairie/desert where only the strong like John Wayne's Rooster Cogburn and Clint Eastwood's man with no name could survive. While the likes of Jesse James and Butch Cassidy made the headlines, the average day in the life of an American westerner was pretty dull. The majority of people who lived west of the Mississippi lived in urban areas, not out in the boonies. Gun violence was actually less common in the western territories than back east and the majority of those who went out west were first generation immigrants, not idealistic white folk provoked by called for manifest destiny. Beyond the Law (1967) is a movie that may not dispel the myths of the wild, wild west, but like many Spaghetti Westerns it does put a new spin on things.

Lee Van Cleef stars as Billy Joe Cudlip, a craven thief who steals the payroll of a mining community from a naïve Czechoslovakian payroll clerk named Ben (Antonio Sabato). He is of course helped by his gang of thieves and conmen, Preacher (Lionel Stander), who dresses like his name to get rubes to trust him and James (Bud Spencer) a black man with a friendly face. Things go according to plan until Billy befriends Ben and is shoved into helping the locals recover the money. Preacher and James see this as an opportunity to steal more loot but things get further complicated when a rival gang of thieves led by Burton (Gordon Mitchell) comes into town.

Now Beyond the Law is far from a perfect movie. The acting ranges of the supporting characters range from okay to terrible and the cinematography is simplistic. Directed by Italian director Giorgio Stegani, Beyond the Law or The Good Die First brings to mind less severe Spaghetti Westerns. Rather than go the path of A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Stegani and his international crew made a movie closer to My Name is Nobody (1973) and My Name is Trinity (1970). It has the tendency to be funny and even unintentionally goofy at some points with Lee Van Cleef showing he can make the best out of a paycheck that bills him with non-English speakers.

If you're a western buff who's easy to please then Beyond the Law may be a perfect little surprise for you. It's a movie that is comfortable in its own banality. The story itself is strong, partially written by prolific Italians writers Mino Roli and Fernando Di Leo and the feel of the film is small but unique. The film was made only a year after Van Cleef's appearance in The Good the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and helped make Bud Spencer a star in his own right. It should at the very least be considered a decent B-movie.

If you're interested, try finding the 105 minute version through Diamond Entertainment and look to avoid imitators with bad digital transfers. There is a colorless butchered version that you can likely find at a bargain bin somewhere and there's a decent letterbox version you can find online. Go check it out before the ghost of Red Ryder comes back to re-mystify the west.

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Ostensibly harmless thieves Van Cleef and his partners in crime (ex-boxer Hoosman and veteran supporting actor Stander) find themselves unwitting protagonists in the plight of a mining town when no-nonsense bandit Mitchell (in Zorro-esque garb) takes the town's women and children hostage in exchange for the town's rich silver deposits.

Essentially a lighthearted buddy-picture until the darker turn emerges late in the story when Mitchell's thugs emerge as the real villains, and conscience gets the better of Van Cleef's character.

In addition to the aforementioned trio, Sicilian heart-throb Sabato plays a young mining official trying to convince Van Cleef of his innate goodness, the attractive Granata is the town's most-eligible bachelorette and prospective future wife to Van Cleef if he can stay clean, and a bare-faced Bud Spencer also appears as the mining boss, momentarily unrecgonisable sans his trademark beard.

Aside from the sometimes melodramatic pace, I personally wasn't a fan of the rather gloomy conclusion which seemed a mean-spirited way to resolve matters when a more sympathetic ending beckoned. But it wasn't meant to be, and consequently this uneven spaghetti western is hard to like in spite of its initially good intentions.

The basic story was very interesting, and parts of it were well executed. Especially the GREAT ending, which gives Van Cleef a chance to do some excellent acting without having to say a word.

The problem with the movie is that (uncut) it's too long, and way too drawn out. It could have been edited down by twenty minutes or so. Also, the movie does not explore Van Cleef's character's transformation enough, with is a serious mistake.

The more you like spaghetti westerns, the more chance there is you'll like it. You also get to see Bud Spencer without his beard!

this spaghetti western is not too bad.i though the story was interesting,and there are some good performances.Lee Van Cleef is the main star,and is quite good here.but he is overshadowed by a few others.Antonio Sabato(father of pseudo-actor Atonio Sabato Jr.)for one puts in a terrific performance,as does Lionel Stander(80'S TV show Hart to Hart.i also liked Bud Spencer(who acted in numerous spaghetti Westerns)though i wish his role had been bigger.but the real standout,in my mind,is Gordon Mitchell,for his "ice water in his veins' portrayal of Burton.the big negative for me though is the length of the film.i feel it is at least 30 minutes too long,and it moves fairly slow at times.but the performances overcome that weakness.for me,Beyond The Law (1968)is a 6/10

"Beyond the Law" 1968 PG 1h 30m Original title: Al di là della legge.

It's a typical spaghetti western; filmed in Italy; in Italian; and now has English dubbing.

It has decent action, with a cookie cutter plot.

Lee Van Cleef stars as Billy Joe Cudlip, criminal turned sheriff! Van Cleef is awesome, as always.

Lionel Stander as Preacher, stands out (pun intended) and provides great comic relief. Bud Spencer is noticable as the money grubbing owner of the silver mine. And, Ann Smyrner is cute and bouncey, and provides the T&A.

Romano Puppo plays Burton, the leader of the bandits, and he is awesome. He wears this black, flat brimmed hat and a long, black, silk cape and he looks like Bela Lugosi playing Zorro. It's makes me think, A. That this is really good, but weird, costuming for 1968, and, B. He really really looks creepy. I can just imagine that in a theater, when Puppo finally gets winged, and falls to his death, the whole audience cheers! The director does a shot from above, showing Puppo lying face down in the dirt, with his cape artistically spread out. Great scene.

Overall, the picture and the sound are pretty bad. Partly because they waited too long to transfer this one from the old film. Still, it's a romp.

And guess what? Noflicks does not carry this one. LOL The Bushwacker 12/24/2021.